Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Die Hard: With a Vengeance

Title: Die Hard: With a Vengeance (1995)
Dir: John McTiernan
Rating: ***1/2 out of 5 stars



Let me first say, I am a big fan of Die Hard. It is possibly the greatest action film ever made. While Vengeance can't touch the original, it is a pretty fun popcorn movie.

As usual, some eurotrash villain (Jeremy Irons) is threatening to kill a lot of people, so Detective John McClane (Bruce Willis) gets called in. This time, that villain is a bomber named "Simon" who wants revenge on the man who killed his little brother, Hans Gruber (see the first film).

Simon sends McClane on a series of mindgames around the city. With each game, he must diffuse a deadly bomb before it goes off. Along the way, a local shopkeeper (Samuel L. Jackson) gets mixed up in the games and is forced to help McClane stop the terrorist.

Vengeance lacks the sleek style and witty one-liners of its first predecessor, but I still had a blast (no pun intended) watching it. Although he's no Hans Gruber, Simon is very devious and his mindgames are fun to figure out. I'm still trying to solve one involving two jugs of water.

Willis and Jackson have great on-screen chemistry, and together they bring comic relief to the film. I could've done without the occasional bad CGI (I'm talking to you, flood!) but all in all, it is a fun popcorn flick. Maybe I should see Die Hard 2....wait, Renny Harlin? Fuck that.

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